Device for producing a suction



Oct.A 12, 1937. A. L. R. BERNARD 9 DEVICE FOR PRODUC`ING A SUCTION 2 sheets-Sheet 1 Fiied April 2o, 1955 ,by Razz Oct. 12, 1937. A. L. R. BERNARD 2,095,493

DEVICE FOR PRODUCING SUCTIKON vFiled April 20, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented oci. 12, 193.7l f

UNITED sTATEs 2,095,493 DEVICE Fon PaoDUcING A s'UcTIoN Auguste Louis Ren Bernard, deceased, late of Rueil-Malmaison, France, by Rene Bernard, nee Bournonville, executor, Paris, France Application April 20, 1935, Serial No. 17,534 -In Belgium'April 27, 1934 13 Claims.

The present invention relates to devices for producing a suction and it is more especially, although not exclusively, concerned with devices of this kind serving to the priming of liquid pumps driven by an internal combustion engine, for instance an explosion engine.

The object of the present invention is to protion, in such` manner that, the engine being started, it is allowed to gather speed, airy for the fuel mixture being sucked in from the atmosphere, after which the air intake is connected with said'chamber whereby the engine, while slowing down, sucks in the air present in -said chamber. 4

`Other features of the present invention will result fr om the following detailed description of some specific embodiments thereof.

' Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given merely by 4way of example, and in which:

Fig. l is a diagrainmatical view of a motor pump unit provided with thedevice according lto the present invention; Y

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are diagrammatic views showing, on an enlarged scale, various embodiments of the device according to the present invention,

respectively;

4 for the suction of liquids.`

-It will first be assumed I that, being given a motor-pump unit includin a Vpump I, of any kind Whatever (for instance of the centrifugal type, as it will be supposed in the following de scription) driven by an explosion engine 2 (Fig. 14) it is desired to create a suction adapted to permit the priming of pump I, 1

According `to the present invention, this engine 2 islarranged in such manner that'its air intake pipe 3 can be connected, at will,` either with the atmosphere or with a chamber in which I it is desired to create the suction, that is to say, v in the present instance, the delivery --pipe 4 of pump I, ahead of a valve 5, which will be kept closed during the period of priming.

(Cl. 10s-'113) For this purpose, air intake pipe 3 is connected, before the carburetor 6, with a casing forming a chamber 'I which is provided, on the one hand, with an orifice 8 of dimensions sufficient for permitting the inflow of the whole of the air neces- 5 sary for feeding the engine, and, on the other hand, with an orifice 9 which is connected, through a suitable conduit, with said delivery pipe 4.

These orifices 8 and 9 are provided with suit- 10 able stopping means I3.

. It will be. readily understood that, if orifice B is opened,\the engine is capable of working in a normal manner.

It can thus'be started and allowed to gather l5 speed.

If, when the engine is running at a high speed of revolution, orifice 8 is closed and orifice 9 is. opened, the engine, the power of which decreases but which keeps running under the effect of its 20 fly-wheel, sucks in the air present in chamber 1, in the delivery pipe 4 of the pump, in the pump itself, and alsoin its suction pipe I0. y v After a certain numberof revolutions, the

speed of the engine shall have decreased and said 25 pump takes place. 5

.advantageouslyl the arrangement ljust above,

i described will be completed by the provision of Fig., 5 is a view, similar to Fig. 1, showing an arrangement, according to the present invention,-

means adapted to prevent the liquid from rising as far as chamber 'I 4under the effect Aof the suction of the engine. 40

For instance this result will be 'obtained by means of av d'evice including a float II, disposed in a chamber I2, and so devised that it permits air to ow past it to chamber 'I but that, as soon 45 as the level of the liquid becomes too high in chamber I2, said float is moved upwardly and cuts olf the communication between said chamber I2and chamber 1.

Of course the'various elements of the combina- 50 tion above described may be given anysuitable specific form.

Concerning 'rst the means for stopping orices 8 and 9, it will be advantageous to make use, among other embodiments, 'of those illus- 55 trated by Figs. 2 to.4. l

According to the rst of these' embodiments, shown by Fig. 2, there is provided a three way cock structure provided with a control member I3 capable of occupying any of three diiierent positions.

In the first position of this member I3, which is the position shown in Fig. 2, orifice 8 is in communication with intake pipe 3 and orifice 9 is stopped.

In the second position, or intermediate position, both of, the orifices 8 and` 9 are stopped.

In the third position, orice 9 is in communication with air intake pipe 3 and orifice 8 is stopped.

Owing to this arrangement, by switching control member I3 from one of its extreme positions to the other one, it is possible to obtain the operation above described. Furthermore, owing to the existence of the intermediate p osition, orifices Band 9 are never short-circuited, that is to say both orifices are never opened simultaneously, so that the suction already created in pipe 4 will be maintained irrespectively of the position of' control member I3. f

According to the second embodiment, which is shown by Fig. 3, orice 8' is provided with a valve I4, which can, for instance be operated manually, said valve being subjected to the action of a spring I5 which tends to close it.

The other orifice, 9', is provided with an automatic valve, or check valve I6, subjected to the action of a spring I1 which tends to close the valve which opens, when the engine is running, under the effect of the suction exerted by the engine as soon as valve I4 is closed, spring I1 being of less strength than spring I5.

Finally, in the third of these embodiments, which is shown by Fig. 4, there is provided also a valve I4 adapted to coact with orifice 8" and subjected to the action of a spring I5', and a valve I6', subjected to the action of a spring I1 and arranged to cooperate with orifice 9".

But, in this embodiment, these two valves are operatively connected together in such manner that the operation that tends to open valve I4 has necessarily caused, previously, the closing of valve I6', and that the operation intended to close valve I4' necessarily produces the opening of valve I6', but only after said valve I4 has been closed.

For this purpose, for instance, both of these valves I4 and I6' are mounted in a sliding manner on a common rod I8, which is preferably subjected to the action of a return spring I8'.

A spring I1' is interposed between valve I6' and a collar I9 carried by one of the ends (for instance the lower end) of rod I8.

A spring I5 is interposed between valve I4 and a stationary stop.

Rod I8 is provided with a collar 20 adapted to lift valve I4 from its seat after said rod I8 has moved, in the suitable direction, a distance suiiicient for causing valve I6 to be applied against its seat.

Finally, rod I8 is provided with another collar or flange 2| adapted to move valve I6 away :from its seat after said rod I8 has moved, in a direction opposite to that above mentioned, a distance suflicient in order that valve I 4 may be applied against its seat. l

It will be readily understood that, whatever be the embodiment that is chosen, whatever be the direction in which the control member is actuated, orifices 8 andA 9 are never opened simultaneously since, even in the case of the second of the embodiments just above described, valve I6 closes as soon as valve I4 opens.

Concerning now the float device, it may be made in any of the following manners:

In the very simple embodiment shown in Fig, 2, this device includes a ball I I, made of a material lighter than the liquid, said ball being enclosed in chamber I2 and being adapted to stop an orifice 22 in communication with oriiice 9 as soon as the liquid rises in chamber I2 up to a predetermined level.

Alternately, as shown in Fig. 3, the iioat member II' is mounted on a rod 23, suitably guided, and the upper end of which is adapted to raise,

' when the iioat member is moved upwardly, the

rod 24 of a valve 25 (preferably tted with a rubber lining) which is then applied upwardly against a seat 26.

Of course, the different operations necessary for obtaining the working of the device as above described can be effected manually, for instance by turning control member I3 (Fig. 2) or by actuating a"handle 29 (Fig. 3) adapted to push down the stem of valve I4, or a handle 21 (Fig. 4) lsuitably connected with rod I8, said handle 21 being advantageously provided with a pawl 28 operative to keep valve I4 open during normal working of the engine.

Means may be provided for automatically switching from one mode of working to the other as the engine speed reaches predetermined limits. Such an arrangement is shown, for example, in Fig. 3 in which a lever 29 is adapted to act on the stem of valve I4, against the action of spring I5.

A centrifugal governor 30, driven by the engine, is provided with a sleeve 3| which is moved upwardly, against the action of a spring 32, the higher as the engine runs faster.

This sleeve 3I is provided with a collar or flange 33 adapted to push downwardly the free end of lever 29 -when the speed of revolution of the engine drops below the predetermined minimum, which produces the opening of valve I4.

A pawl 34 is adapted to keep lever 29 in its lowered position, said pawl being rigid with a finger 35.

Sleeve 3| is provided with a second collar 36 adapted to push in an upward direction the free end of said linger 35 when the speed of revolution of the engine exceeds the predetermined maximum, which brings pawl 34 out of action, thus releasing lever 29 and permitting valve I4 to close under the action of its spring I5.

It will be readily understood that such an automatic mechanism might be combined with any other device for alternately closing oriiices 8 and 9.

It should be noted that the pressure in air intake pipe 3 will vary very much according as to which of the orifices 8 and 9 (or 8 and 9', or 8" and 9") is connected with said intake pipe.

Consequently, in order to reduce to a minimum the perturbation produced in the carbureting system of the engine by these variations of pressure, it is advantageous to prov-ide means for balancing the pressures acting on the various elements of this system.

For instance, in the case of a carburetor including a float chamber 31 (the carburetor as such not being shown as it is located behind chamber 31), there is provided a conduit 38 connecting said float chamber, which otherwise will be made uidtight, with intake pipe 3 (or chamber 1). Thus the variations of pressure produced not influence the ties (such for instance as muck-water or water laden with sand) In this case the engine is fitted with a lcasing forming a chamber l'such as that above described, and a conduit 4D. is provided for connecting the orifice 9 of this chamber 1 (as shown in Fig. 2, or 9 or 9" of chamber 1 or 1" of Figs. 3 and 4, respectively) with vessel 39, a float device being of course interposed if necessary.

With such an arrangement, by proceeding as above described in detail, it will be possible to fill up vessel 39, even if the volume of this vessel is relatively great (for instance several cubic meters).

In order to empty vessel 39 when it is full, there may be provided a suitable pipe 4I, provided with a valve 42 or `the like. In' order to prevent the. liquid sucked in through inlet pipe 43 from flowing out through said pipe 43 when valve 42 is opened, said inlet pipe 43 may be prolonged upwardly so that it opens into the upper part of vessel 39. Or said pipe 43 might also be provided with a valve 44. y

It is believed that the preceding description of the different embodiments of .the device according to the present invention and the explanations given with `reference thereto are sufcient for making it unnecessary to describe the working of these embodiments.

Of course, it is to be understood that the engine utilized in connection with` the present in vention may be of the two-stroke type, in which case the working of the device will be particularly satisfactory if this engine is fitted with a scav- "enging pump. On the other hand the engine might be of the fuel injection type and, morey generally of any kind whatever, provided it is an intern/al combustion engine.

In a general manner, while the above description discloses what is deemed to be the practical and efficient embodiments of the present invention, it should be well understood that it is not desired to be limited thereto as there might be changes'made in the arrangement, disposition and fo'rm of theparts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for producing a suction in a vessel comprising, in combination, an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder. 'means for connecting the interior of said cylinder selectively with the atmospherev or with the inside of said vessel,v and means for feeding fuel to said engine continuously even whenthe vessel is connected to said cylinder.

2. A device for producing a suction in a vesselv comprising, in combination, an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder, a chamber communicating with the inside of said cylinder, said chamber having two oriiices communicating respectively with the atmosphere and with said vessel, means for opening and closing said orifices selectively so that one of `said orifices is inopen position when the other is, closed,

and means for feeding fuel to said engine conademas tinuously and regardless of which orifices are open or closed.

3. In a device according to claim 2, said means for feeding fuel including a carburetor and a oat chamber, and means for connecting the inside of said float chamber with the inside of said first mentioned chamber whereby the pressures in said two chambers `will, be balanced.

4. A device according to claim 2 in which said chamber has the shape of a body of revolution, said operating and closing means including a rotating control member within saidchamber pro-v vided with at least one hole and adapted to register with one or the other of said orifices.'

'5. A device for producing a suction in a vessel in connection with an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder and a carburetor connected to the inside of said cylinder comprising, in combination,a chamber adapted to communicate with said carburetor, said chamber having two orifices communicating respectively with the atmosphere and with said vessel, means for selectively opening and closing said orices'so that one of said orifices is in open position when the other is closed.

6. A device for producing a. suction in a centrifugal pump for priming the same, in combination with a combustion engine having at least one cylinder, means for connecting the inside of said cylinder selectively with the atmosphere or with the interior of said pump, the inside of said cylinder being shut off from the atmosphere when connected to said pumpand being shut on from said pump when connected to the atmosphere, and means for feeding fuel to said engine continuously even when the cylinder is connected with Vthe interior of said'pump.

'7. A device according to claim 2 in' which the first mentioned means of said claim include valves adapted to cooperate with said oriiices,v

operate with the first mentioned orifice can be opened only after the other valve has been closed. and the closing of the rst mentioned valve is necessarily followed by the opening of the other valve.

9. A device according to claim 2 in which the first Vmentioned means of said claim include a first valve adapted to cooperate with the first mentioned'orifice, a spring interposed between a stationary part of the device and said valve for urging it toward its closedA position, a second valve coaxial with Ithe first mentioned one adapt- 'ed to cooperate with the second mentioned ori,

ce, a rod slidable in both of said valves, means for operating said rod, .a spring interposed betwen a part ofsaid rod and the second valve for urging it toward its closed position, and collars carriedvby said rod and adapted to cooperate with said vvalves respectively, said collars being so positioned that the first valve can be opened .only after the second valve has been closed and the closing of the rst valve is necessarily followed by the opening of the second valve.

l0. A device according to claim 2 further including means for preventing liquid to reach said chamber.

11. A device according to claim 2 further including means for automatically closing the rst orifice and opening the second one when the speed of the engine reaches a predetermined maximum value and opening the rst orifice and closing the second one when the speed of the engine reaches a predetermined minimum value, said automatic means being operative by the engine.

12. A device for producing a suction in a vessel comprising, in combination, an internal combustion engine having a. plurality of cylinders and a. plurality of intake passages connected to the inside o! said cylinders, a chamber, a connection between said chamber and the intakev passages leading to some only of said cylinders, said chamber having two orifices communicating respectively with the atmosphere and with said vessel, means for opening and closing said orifices selectively so that one o1' said orices is in open position when the other is closed, and means i'or feeding fuel to said engine continuously.

13. A device for producing a suction in a vessel comprising, in combination, an internal combustion engine having at least one cylinder, means for connecting the interior. of said cylinder selectively with the atmosphere or with the inside of said vessel, said means comprising two orices communicating respectively with the atmosphere and with said vessel, and means for automatically closing the rst orifice and openingv the second one when the speed of the engine reaches a predetermined maximum value andopening the first orice and closing the second one when the speed of the engine reaches a predetermined minimum value, said automatic means being operative by the engine.

RENE BERNARD-NEE BOURNONVILLE, Executor of Auguste Louis Ren Bernard, De-

ceased. 

